MARBELLA, March 24, 2022
Former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem accepted a wild card into the main draw of the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open. This was announced by the organizers of the ATP Challenger 125 event on Thursday. The clay-court event is taking place from March 27 to April 3 at the Puente Romano Beach Resort in Marbella, Spain.
Almost nine months have passed since the 28-year-old Austrian’s last match on the ATP Tour, when he was forced to retire during his second-round match at the Mallorca Championships in June last year, suffering pain in his right wrist that ended up being diagnosed as a muscle tear and that has kept him sidelined from the courts ever since.
Thiem, champion of the 2020 US Open, will make his first appearance on the ATP Challenger Tour since Irving, Texas in March 2015. The World No. 50 has captured two Challenger titles, winning two tournaments on Moroccan soil in Kenitra and Casablanca nine years ago.
🚨 @DomiThiem will return at the #AndaluciaOpen 🚨
🙌 The Austrian returns to competition thanks to a wildcard in the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open 2022#AndaluciaOpen pic.twitter.com/eP53OhODCy
— AnyTech365 Andalucía Open (@AndaluciaOpen) March 24, 2022
Wawrinka also returns to action
Thiem joins three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland, who also received a wild card into the main draw in Marbella.
Ten Top 100 players will headline the action led by World No. 67 Alex Molcan. The 24-year-old from Slovakia will seek his third ATP Challenger career crown, his first since Helsinki in November last season.
Pablo Andujar, champion in 2019, Roberto Carballes Baena and last year’s runner-up Jaume Munar will represent a strong Spanish contingent. Jiri Vesely from the Czech Republic, Kamil Majchrzak of Poland, Danish teen sensation Holger Rune, Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland, Czech youngster Jiri Lehecka and Italian Marco Cecchinato will also be part of the line-up.
Tickets for the AnyTech365 Andalucía Open are on sale and can be purchased online through the tournament’s official website.